Chaos Theory
by A Dead End
Summary: After you shatter someone's perfect world, you can't help but take a closer look at your own. Touko had had a year to come to terms with the choices she'd made. Thinking back to it all, maybe it wasn't just rain tapping on her shoulder.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** Just to be clear, I do not own Pokémon or the characters (But I do have my own copy of the game!)

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><p>It had already been almost a year since N had left to discover life and what people and Pokémon really meant to each other. Touko hadn't wanted to let him go, but she knew it had been the right thing to do.<p>

She had continued to travel Unova, seeing places she hadn't had a chance to see during the whole Team Plasma crisis, and raising her Pokémon. There were a lot of trainers, many with stronger Pokémon that hers, and if she intended on living up to the title of the Champion, it meant keeping up her winning streak. That required hard training.

Only once had she ever regretted having to win, and it had been against him. She didn't want to have to shatter his whole world, tear down the reality that had been built for him out of lies and deceit. The image of N when his father had called him a warped defective boy made her sick, how could someone be so heartless. It had been Ghetsis' fault his son was like that, and now N was gone.

Touko stood in front of the Ferris wheel at Nimbasa city, gazing up as the clouds gathered above. It was a place of their shared memories, where N had revealed to her the ugly truth. He was the King of Team Plasma, he was the very thing she was set to destroy. But his smile, his honest words and the gentle way he treated Pokémon, what was so evil about that. He was a pure and innocent creature, and what she was forced to do was corrupt that purity. She had to show him the sin in the world and in his ways, how nothing was perfect. It was like telling a child that everyone was going to die someday. It wasn't fair. And now all she wished was that they could have been more that what they were. Was it selfish to desire something beyond friendship with him? He'd said he'd like her, and that she was special. But what did N know about that anyway, he was just a child stuck in the body of a twenty-year-old man. It was wrong.

'So this is what it feels like to be a pedophile.' Touko smirked to herself, damn teenage hormones. When and if N ever returned she would take it easy and slow, she swore.

It was getting late and the bruette had to turn in for the night, which looked like it was going to be a bleak one. Touko started walking back to the Pokémon centre, her body feeling heavy and tired, when there was a soft tap on her shoulder. 'Damn, did it already have to start raining?' she hummed to herself.

"Hey." Someone whispered hesitantly next to her ear.

She knew that voice all too well. 'No, it couldn't be.'

White didn't want to turn around in case it was just an illusion, not reaching far enough to be reality. Still, natural curiosity overtook her cautious initial response. There behind her stood an apprehensive, smiling man with long tea-green hair. She leapt at him, arms snaking around his body, holding him tight as if he'd otherwise disappear again.

"N! You're back" She gave a relieved sigh. When he didn't respond to her hug, she pulled away quickly, realizing how forward she had been. "I'm sorry, it's just that I haven't seen you in ages, and I thought you might not come back and I missed you." Touko regretted saying every word immediately when N just stared at her with an inquisitive and very confused expression plastered on his face.

"I too missed battling you. When we talked, I felt as though you were a person who really understood me."

The brunette smiled awkwardly, glad that the man hadn't taken her behavior as an offence. Maybe he just wasn't accustomed to hugs and shows of affection. No wonder, considering who his father was, it was more likely he was mistreated at home. No, it wasn't right to make assumptions like that, even if Ghetsis was the personification of all things evil. He was the kind of person could manipulate and use his own child to satisfy his lust for power and world domination. It was disgusting. But N was different, he was sweet and kind, he'd always been considerate towards her.

"That's what people do when they miss each other, right?" N's soft voice brought her back, only for her to loose herself in his clear eyes.

"What, hug? Yeah. It's something friends do. H-have you been hugged before N?" she loved saying his name, but for some reason the question made her nervous.

N nodded slowly. "When my mum was alive, she used to hold me like that. Ghetsis didn't, he was always a lot rougher." The green-haired male grew quiet, sinking deep into thought. Touko bit her lip, wishing she'd learn to keep her mouth shut. Before she had a chance to apologize again, N finished his train of thought and turned to face her straight on. "Do you know what people do when they like each other?"

Touko flushed pink. Why was he asking her this of all people of all things, maybe he'd met someone on his travels and the brunette was just his friend. She'd definitely implied it when she'd hugged him and told him her version of what it meant. Then he'd gone an associated it with his family.  
>"Umm, well, they might hold hands and do other more intimate stuff. I don't think I'm to best person to explain."<p>

He looked at her wide eyed with interest. "Why not, I think you're the perfect person." Now he just seemed confused, and looked completely adorable with his little puzzled face.

Touko's heart could no longer keep still, it thrashed itself against her ribcage with so much force she was afraid it'd break its way out. If only the man could comprehend attraction on some other than infant level.

"Someone told me that when a boy likes a girl, he kisses her, but she wouldn't tell me what it meant." He was so innocent in this corrupt world. Someone needed to lock him back up in his castle and keep him away from everything.

Touko's face was completely red now, and she looked at him almost horrified that she was the one that had to explain it to him. "Well, you see when two people really like each other they might show it by pressing their umm.. lips together." She was stammering, and trying to get the images of the much taller male leaning unto her, out of her head.

"Would you show me?" N asked as if it was no less ordinary than ordering a soda pop.

"WHAA! But N, I mean we're not like that. We're just friends, right?" It was the stupidest thing to say in the situation, but she'd put it out there anyway.

"Oh."

'Oh, what was 'oh' meant to mean. Was there something else going on in that tea-green head of his?'

"But I think about you all the time, even when I'm in another region of the world. Isn't that being more than friends? My mother said I'd feel that way about someone one day, and that that person would be my girlfriend. I could do special things with her because I liked her. But then dad made her go away."

'Wait what! So N liked her, in that way, isn't that what he'd just said.' Now Touko was the one that found herself utterly perplexed. This man knew what a couple was, yet the concept of what it meant in reality completely eluded him. Well it wasn't good, but better than she'd initially hoped for.

"What are you saying N?" The girl asked cautiously, not sure if she wanted the answer. Who was she kidding, she had been dying to hear it for a long time now.

"You're my girlfriend aren't you Touko? You think about me when I'm gone don't you, that's why you miss me." Again, he was so casual about it. It all seemed simply logical to him, obviously the man had never heard of rejection. Maybe that was a good thing. Then again, he'd experienced something along those lines when his dad had told him the truth about why he existed.

But to her he wasn't a puppet, to her he was the thing that kept her going. Every town she had visited, every bridge she had crossed, every forest she had almost gotten lost in, everywhere, she had been secretly hoping he'd show up.

"Yes, I do think about you N. Actually I can't stop thinking about you. I was beginning to think you weren't coming back." It felt so easy to tell him how she felt, like it was only natural. And yet there she was again, in front of him, wanting to pour out everything she was holding back.

This time he hugged her. It was awkward and he held her quite roughly, but she couldn't complain. "Of course I'd come back. You were the one who taught me about following my beliefs without forcing people to do what they didn't want to." Gently loosening his hold, he sighed "To me, you were always there and I wanted to understand why it was that way."

Touko smirked warmly at him. "And what did you find?"

"That you were right about people and Pokémon." He paused for a moment "And that I don't know a lot about humans, let alone relationships with them, but I'll start learning. I want to be able to support you back so that I won't be a burden." N hesitated, then gazed softly into Touko's eyes.

"You're not a burden" She blushed again, and he frowned.

"Are you feeling alright, you're face has gone the colour of Zoroark's mane several times now."

"Mhmm" She nodded soundly "You'll understand when you do a bit more research." She really hoped he'd do it mostly on his own, she definitely didn't want to be explaining a lot of things to him. Maybe Cheren could help, and have a guy-to-guy talk with him.

"Now" N announced confidently, as the two stood about ten meters from the Ferris wheel entrance. "Would you please show me what a kiss is so I can give you one."

"Look I really..." Touku pulled a face and swallowed the end of her sentence.

"Please." Pale green eyes blinked at her, asking.

The brunette looked at him timidly. "Okay, but you have to promise not to back away then.

"I promise." He reassured her.

Once Touko was confident enough that she could do this, and that he wasn't going to make a run for it, she placed her hands on his shoulders. Rising up onto her tiptoes, she carefully pushed herself against him. The girl closed her eyes and inched their lips closer and closer until they brushed together. She held them there slightly parted for a few moments touching his cold mouth, then pulled away when she felt him tense up. Looking at the man, his eyes were a mixture or shock and wonder. All he could do was stare at her.

"I-I'm sorry, I should have just..." So much for going slow.

But before she could carry on, Touko felt two strong arms pull her in. A pair of cool lips crushed hard against her own. They soon softened as they stood there, just touching. After he pulled away, she leant her head on his shoulder. Despite the slight awkwardness of it, Touko found herself smiling sheepishly.

"Is this what it's like to be in love?" N asked solemnly.

The brunette felt her heart skip a beat or two. "No, this is something that has a chance at becoming love." She breathed in his minty scent. They'd known each other for two years, and missed each other for a third. Touko didn't know his emotional capabilities, but she would have time to find out. And in the end, who was she to tell him what love was. That he would have to figure out for himself.

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><p><strong>AN:** This was originally intended as a one shot, but some people are getting the idea that this is just the start to the story, so now I'm adding a second chapter.


	2. Chapter 2

A green haired young man lay soundly on a bench in the waiting room of the Pokémon Centre. It wasn't the ideal setting, but as the pair had arrived rather late, all the lodging rooms were full or booked. Touko had been ready to pull out the 'Unova Champion' card and shove it down Nurse Joy's throat, but N had assured her that he was perfectly happy with sleeping on the bench. He was different in that way, he was calmer and always the realist in every situation. He balanced her out. Well they do say opposites attract, and now it wasn't the whole 'good and evil' theme anymore.

The brunette stared at her companion, she still couldn't get her head wrapped around the fact that he was there, right there next to her, and not quite as innocent as when they had met. It made her wonder, how much of the ideals that his father had spoon-fed him since infancy, was still there. It wasn't something that disappeared just like that, no matter how life changing their final battle had been. When she stopped to examine her own life now, it very much resembled the one where they had been enemies, nothing had really changed.

Touko knew that under that serene innocence of N's resting face lay a dangerous amount of calamity. Just getting him to open up about it would be a task to accomplish, let alone go through. She didn't know the half or what was under the surface, but if they were going to have a shot at making this work, she had to find out.

Brushing strands of tea-green hair out of his face, fingers tickling his cheeks. Touko didn't want to stop watching him yet, there was still a lot she wanted to get straight, like were they really a 'couple' now. Her body however had other plans. Eyelids weighing down heaver than she could manage, the girl was forced to let her head rest backward on the wall and slide her eyes shut. He would still be there in the morning.

Soft blue eyes blinked open, not instantly recognising where they were. She remembered sitting before she fell asleep, but she was now in a vertical position. "N." Was it just a dream? She rubbed her eyes, and when she opened them again, she had to blink hard to make sure she was seeing right. There was a Petilil floating above her face.

"Did you sleep well?"

The Pokémon talked! Now she knew it was a dream, especially when the little Petilil had N's voice. N wasn't a Pokémon. 'Wait just a minute.'

Sitting up, it all started to make a lot more sense

"So?"

The girl now saw that the voice belonged to a familiar young green haired trainer. "So what?" she asked, more bluntly than she meant to.

N's expression dropped from an ecstatic smile to a timid pout. The Petilil turned to the male and hugged him for comfort.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that." Touko reassured him with an apologetic grin.

The Pokémon hopped from N's lap onto the girl, huddling close to her. Obviously apology accepted.

"She wanted to come and see you." The man's face softened.

The girl petted the baby creature. "She's adorable." Only then did Touko realise that N was wearing a white frilly apron, more commonly seen on a Nurse Joy. "And so is what you're wearing." She was forced to suppress the urge to fall over laughing. Instead, she let a wide smile creep onto her lips. "N, why in the name of Unova are you wearing that?"

The green haired man seemed flustered. "I just thought because Nurse Joy was wearing one when she was helping Pokémon." A naive and honest answer, he was probably slightly embarrassed now thanks to her.

"It's actually nice." She made an effort to correct herself with a straight face. Easier said than done.

N grinned. Luckily he bounced back quickly. "They have some spares if you want to try one on too."

Thank goodness he didn't realise how that sounded. "Oh it's alright, looks better on you anyway. I was just wondering why you were wearing it."

"I asked Nurse Joy if she needed any help with the Pokémon."

An eavesdropping Nurse poked her head in. "Did you sleep well?"

The brunette could have sworn she was being sarcastic, if she didn't know better. "Just fine." Rubbing her neck and wincing made her statement all the more believable. Floating, talking Petilil, what had she been thinking.

"Good." The nurse smiled at both of them. "Your boyfriend here has been wonderful, the Pokémon really adore him."

"Oh he's umm... well he's a natural." Touko did her best to accustom herself to the feeling of being referred to as someone in a relationship, but it was just weird. Had N openly declared their status, or had the woman just made the assumption. Either way, it was something she wanted to leave for later to sort out. For now she'd act as though yesterday never happened just to avoid any awkward and unsought situations. The last thing they needed was a meddling Nurse Joy.

Patting the small Pokémon in her lap, it hopped off and ran out of the room. "Wait, don't..."

The girl was up, covers that she had no idea were on her sent flying in the air. She was out the room and after the Petilil before the other two even realised what had happened. They too followed, but didn't have to get far, when three meters from the door was a brown haired girl lying on the floor with a Pokémon safely in her arms.

"Got her."

N laughed. "You know she wouldn't have run far, her mother is in the other room. She was just hungry."

Standing up, Touko put the Pokémon down, and it scurried off to where the man had said. "I knew that. I was just worried she's get lost or hurt." An awkward smile on her lips, she was hoping they'd pretend to believe her.

"You two are welcome to help out for today, it looks like it's going to get really busy." Nurse Joy nodded to them, and hurried off.

Touko sighed, and looked at N. "Well you guys already started without me, so might as well join in."

Joy returned with a white piece of fabric. "Just what I was hoping to hear." Handing it to the girl who unfolded it, to no surprise it was a nurse's apron. This was going to be a long day.

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><p><strong>AN:** I really wasn't supposed to write this story, at least that's what I had told myself, let alone another chapter. But hey, here it is anyway. Hope you enjoy.


	3. Chapter 3

After the long day, two young Pokémon trainers were walking through Nimbasa City. Not quite hand in hand, but close enough to touch.

"You're that Team Plasma guy, aren't you?" N and Touko turned to see a scowling older woman looking them up and down with distain.

What could the man reply, it wasn't as if denying it would change anything.

"Yes." He admitted. "I was."

"You've got some nerve showing your face around here. My granddaughter lost her first Pokémon because of your creeps." She was furiously waving a wooden walking stick frighteningly close to his face.

"Ma'am, I'm sorry but it's not his fault, he was…" Touko stepped protectively in front of the young man.

"And who are you, one of his little servants? You dare defend this creature."

"I beg your pardon, but I'm the Unova Champion." The girl was starting to get agitated, she had been afraid that something like this might happen, but hadn't been prepared with actually facing it.

"Who's going to believe that with you collaborating with this Pokémon hater." The old woman scoffed. "I'm not quite as dumb as I look."

"Ma'am that's not what I meant, and for you information he loves Pokémon, he was just…"

N placed a hand on her shoulder and she stopped mid sentence. The man commanded and eerie sense of authority when he wanted to. "I'm very sorry that we bothered you madam, but we must be going. If there was anything I could do to make it up to you."

"Yeah, you can crawl into some dark small hole and die. Don't think you're going to get away with this. There will be others, and not all of them will be so forgiving."

The two started backing away from the woman's crude comments, only to bump into something big.

"Is there a problem here?" There was a huge Hiker standing behind them, in full gear, arms crossed and not looking at all inviting.

Touko sized up the man, he wasn't anything she couldn't take on, but now didn't seem like the time or place. N obviously wanted to avoid the situation, understandably, so she'd do her best to assist. "No sir, we were just leaving."

"They took Kelly's first Pokémon!" The old woman cried out melodramatically.

The girl could swear steam was coming out of the Hiker's nostrils. Before she realised anything, a large fist connected with N's jaw. With a small whimper he hit the floor. Then the young man just picked himself up, and turned the other cheek.

"You happy now!" Touko shouted at the two. "You say he's got some nerve, but you're just ganging up on him. Who else are you going to invited to beat the crap out of him, hmm?" she was slightly disturbed at how much of a reflex it had been for N to get up and wait for another blow. Huffing angrily after no reply, she wrapped a hand around the green haired man's arm and pulled him off.

When they were out of the way, Touko stopped, taking a deep breath before she turned to assess the damage. All the authority had dissipated, and he was just a hurt little boy.

There was the beginning of bruising, and somehow something looked off. "N, can you open your mouth?"

The man complied, but only got it half open before giving a small whine. It was dislocated. The man opened it more and pushed on it until it popped back into place. "That sometimes happens, I didn't even realise."

Touko took a step back 'sometimes happens' she didn't want to ask, but it would come up sooner or later. "What do you mean by that?"

"My father sometimes taught me about how Pokémon feel when they're mistreated so I could understand better what they were going through." He rubbed his jaw gently.

Wow. The girl wished she hadn't just heard what he had told her, and he had been so calm about it. "People aren't like that. I mean yeah sure there are psychopaths but the police deal with them. No one should be treated that way."

N smiled at her softly, heart beating that bit less steadily, but he said nothing.

"N, I think we should go home for a while. You've been through a lot and you should probably have a moment to yourself." In truth she was more worried about a repeat of what happened a moment ago. He would undoubtedly be recognised for who he used to be, and a lot of people blamed him for everything that had happened. It was the last thing he needed right now.

He might have seemed fine on the surface, but Touko wasn't convinced that there was a lot more going on under the surface that he choked off.

"It's alright, I don't want to interfere with your journey."

The brunette scoffed a smile. "It's fine. I need to go see my mum anyway; she's holding some money for me. And I could really use a break, okay?"

The man nodded, by the looks of it, completely buying into her cover story. Then again, maybe she hadn't thought this through. He would be the first guy she would be introducing to her mother, and she had no idea how that would go down.

Small droplets of water started softly pelting on the ground. "N, it's gonna rain, let's go." The girl grabbed a Pokéball and was about to throw it.

The man looked at her confused. "What's the hurry?"

Touko halted and turned to him, slightly amused by the absurdity of his question. "We'll get wet if we stay, Zekrom can take us over the rain clouds."

"So?"

The girl didn't feel like arguing right now, all she wanted to do was stay remotely dry. "So…all our gear is going to get…" She looked at N and realised that he really didn't have anything but himself with him. "Right, never mind that. I guess you're not a cat then."

"But I am."

"What!" The dampness must have got to his head.

"My mother told me I was born in the year of the cat."

"But there's no such thing." Way to go for bursting his bubble.

N blinked at her, puzzled and a bit upset. Clearly she was wrong, his mother had told him the story so many times. "The cat was late to the banquet, yes, but he was still let in to watch the other members of the zodiac play."

Touko was faced with a difficult decision. Break his little protected world some more, or let him hold onto his fantasy. Truth be told, in a sad way, it did make sense. All that he'd had to go through, if there were a year of the cat, he'd definitely be born in it. "Sorry, I guess I haven't heard that version. But aren't cats supposed to hate the rain."

N smiled, glad that she understood what he meant. He knew that they had many differences, resulting from how they were both raised, but he hadn't expected them to be quite this different. "Some cats don't, like me." He grinned proudly.

The brunette smiled slyly. "Like you?" She changed the Pokéball in her hand, and threw it up. "Samurott, waterpulse." N found himself drenched by a friendly water attack.

"Now can we go?" Touko almost fell over laughing.

The man nodded, rather amused himself. "Yes I believe that would be a good idea. I'm goning to need to change into something dry."

Face dropping, the brunette hadn't thought about that. She didn't really have clothes for him. "Umm yeah." She'd figure something out. "Go Zekrom."

The large legendary roared as it leapt up into the air. N gazed up at it, the other half of him, wondering how it was possible. How do you split something like that in two? As the black creature gracefully descended back to the ground, it nudged Touko for attention. The girl smiled and gladly stroked him. Zekrom then turned to N, scowling slightly while deciding whether he was friend or foe. After a moment, the Pokémon playfully pushed the man.

"I think he likes you." Touko grinned before jumping onto it's back. "You coming?" She offered N her hand.

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><p><strong>AN:** Been ages since I last added a chapter, sorry guys. I've had this on my computer for a while, but just haven't gotten around to putting it up.


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